I read an article once that talked about how this movie came to be. Will Smith had an idea about making a movie that would put into test the chemistry between a father and his son, a chemistry that had been falling apart for years. His first idea was that the movie would take them into some sort of a road trip in which the car crashes, and given that the father was badly injured in the accident, he was unable to move. Therefore, it was up to the son to look for help in a remote place to be able to save his father and himself. This would seem to be actually a brilliant idea for a movie, being both sentimental and shocking at the same time, given that it would be based on something that can actually happen any day. And in a year full of post-apocalyptic movies, how great would it be to see a movie that goes far from this theme, while at the same time bringing into present time the idea of people that are alone in a remote place and in need of help? Well, guess what. Will Smith suddenly had the urge to be extremely original and move the time to 1,000 years later! Oh, and of course, why wouldn’t he decide to give M. Night Shyamalan, one of the greatest directors in the present day, directing classics such as “The Happening” and “The Last Airbender”, a call? Seriously, what could possibly go wrong? Everything. (more…)

As many people already know, director Quentin Tarantino did not originally have Jamie Foxx in his mind when he wrote down Django’s character for his box office hit Django Unchained. He actually had Will Smith in his mind! However, it caused surprise when it was announced that Jamie Foxx would be taking the role of Django, after Will Smith turned down this role. Now, why would anyone ever turn down a role offered by Quentin Tarantino himself? Apparently, it was just not enough for Will Smith. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Will said, “Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead.” The star of big hits such as the Men In Black trilogy also was quoted stating, “The other character was the lead! I was like, ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!'” He was, of course, referring to Dr. King Schultz, played by Christoph Waltz, who ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the most recent Oscars. When asked his opinion of the movie, he simply responded “Brilliant… Just not for me.”

Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio, has been the highest grossing Tarantino movie up-to-date, with over $410 million worldwide. It was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, of which it won the second one.

Will Smith is at the moment promoting his new science fiction movie, After Earth, in which he will star alongside his son, Jaden Smith.

Do you think Will Smith missed out on the opportunity of his career by turning down this role? Would he have been a better Django than Jamie Foxx? Leave your opinions below!